Well, my family has been a fishing family for a long time. Everyone in and around our family has or was into salmon fishing out on big blue. It all started going out salmon fishing with my grandpa in his 48 foot yacht boat. Name of the boat, the "Timber Queen." A very well known boat of the Portland yacht club and around Astoria. So as you can see I've been out on the water for many years. Its the first thing I ever took up as something to do, other then digging in the dirt.
At the age of 5 I caught my first salmon out on the ocean. Fished out of Newport. Fished all day, me being sick but still was able to get two fish on my rod. One was a keeper Coho and the other was something I don't remember. So that's pretty much when I started fishing.
For the next few years I went out on the ocean and caught salmon. I do remember many days of coming back empty handed. Come back to the port and one or two boats would have 10 to 15 fishermen standing next to it looking at one Coho salmon. I did do a little trout and bass fishing. When I turned 8 years old I got the bright idea to start fly fishing for trout and bass cause I was having no more fun catching them fish. Got to be to easy fishing the local ponds and creeks around. But it was still nice to catch and release a native 17 inch cut every now and then.
My first steelhead came that summer, my Mom and a few of her friends were all down for a nice summer day having a little party down on the Lewis River there at the Cedar Creek hole. I don't know how many hours that day I fished. But I kept casting them wiggle warts out and ended up having two big steelhead chase that wart down right up to the bank and then run back out into the river. The next day it was so nice Mom wanted to go back down there. So I started fishing off of that so called snaggers rock. Casting them blue deep diving wiggle warts. Well, right about sundown I got a good hit but missed him. Next cast, another hit but missed him. The next cast that fish hammered that wart and it was fish on and let me tell you, EVERYONE down there heard me. Now it was not the biggest steelhead (24inches) but it was my first caught steelhead on my own fishing my own way.
From there on I have been fishing for salmon and steelhead every chance I get.
My first Chinook salmon came that same year too. Was fishing for jack salmon with eggs with no weight. I was in a small pool and you could just see the bigger fish swimming around but all you had to do was drop your eggs striate down and a fare size jack salmon would come out and hit it. Well, this big Chinook salmon came swimming real close by and I went and put my eggs right in front of his face and all I seen was his mouth open and he sucked the eggs right in. Now let me tell you, a 30 pound Chinook salmon on 10 pound test being fought by a 12 year old kid gets a lot of people looking and takes some time, try an hour to bank that thing!
Been up to Alaska salmon and bottom fishing a few times in the past few years. What really got me into fly fishing was fly fishing for the pinks and chums up North. I caught a 22 pound Alaskan Chum salmon on a purple egg sucking leach on a 6wt 9 ft lamiglas fly rod. What a blast I had. That was so much fun fishing up there. I would end the day with sore arms.
Started spring Chinook fishing when the fishery opened a few years ago on my river. Took 3 years to get that down.
This last winter I hooked up with my very first winter steelhead on a fly! That was a blast there. I hooked 3 in one day. I must have made up for it in that one day. I had been trying my luck for steelhead on a fly for 3 years with out any luck, but then that one cold winter morning I hooked 3 winter steelhead banking one! Looking to hook up with another this summer!

Well, don't know how much posting I'm gonna do cause I don't know much about fly fishing but I will be reading trying to learn more!

striblue

05-11-2003, 12:08 AM

Welcome to the forum !

fredaevans

05-11-2003, 12:19 AM

fae
:D

roballen

05-11-2003, 01:09 AM

Hi kingfisher welcome aboard.. didn't know you were into fly fishing.. See you on the n.fork (grey clackacraft)